1. Description of the Prior Art
German Pat. No. 958,832 describes certain benzylideneaminoguanidines and their use as pharmaceuticals and therapeutic agents. Among these guanidines are those in which halogen is substituted on the phenyl ring, specifically, the aminoguanidines which can be considered to be the derivatives of 4-chlorobenzaldehyde, 3,4-dichlorobenzaldehyde and 3-chlorobenzaldehyde. Generically, the patent also discloses the aminoguanidines which can be considered to be the derivatives of the corresponding halo-acetophenones.
2. Summary of the Invention
Despite the teachings of the German patent, it has been found that the aminoguanidines disclosed therein -- which do not have halogen substituted at an ortho position on the phenyl ring -- exhibit little, if any, pharmacological activity.
In contrast, it has been found that benzylideneaminoguanidines having halogen substituted on at least one of the ortho carbon atoms of the phenyl ring exhibit very high pharmacological activity, particularly acting as depressants of the central nervous system and the cardiovascular system, and as anti-depressants for overcoming psychic depression.